sewn paper
e-mail the Author
Young Adult (Equine)
Fall 1996
208 pages
ISBN 0-88984-177-2
$12.95
Readers who are interested
in Dancer may also be interested
in Abby Malone
(1999)
Dancer
Shelley Peterson
Hilary James (`Mousie') is sixteen when she wins The Fuller Trophy jumping with her horse Dancer
at the Royal Winter Fair. Her triumph is rewarded with an invitation to perform in England
for Queen Elizabeth, but she has also attracted the unwanted attention of the evil Samuel Owens
who plots to acquire Dancer for his niece, Sara.
Thwarted in his initial attempt to purchase the horse, Owens has his hired man, Chad Smith,
try to steal it. Mousie has a dream in which a beautiful blond horsewoman warns her of impending
danger. She wakes to discover Chad Smith, syringe in hand, in Dancer's stall. Chad Smith is killed
in the ensuing scuffle and his employer comes under suspicion.
Dancer is flown to Highgrove, the country home of Prince Charles, and Mousie arrives with her mother
Christine at `Clusters' - an English manor, once the home of Arabella, the second wife of the Duke
of Dewbury, now both long dead. Mousie finds an antique lady's hunting whip which she feels
certain must have belonged to Arabella, and later discovers a portrait of her riding side-saddle.
It is the same woman who appeared in Mousie's dreams.
`Any lover of horses is bound to enjoy this book; others will enjoy it as well, and begin to
see horses in a different light. Peterson has combined elements of competition, deception, growing up
and falling in love to create a story appealing to readers both young and old. The plot and events are intriguing
and will immediately capture a place in the hearts of its readers. ...
`Peterson weaves fantastic settings, plots and sub-plots to create a magical story. Readers feel
as if they personally know the characters of the novel by the depth and personality Peterson
weaves within each one. We come to love the good guys and hate the bad. ...
`The writer discusses a wide variety of emotional issues: adults rekindling an old flame
and falling in love, the first relationships of teenagers, emotions of both adults and youth
surrounding the death of a parent and loved one, to facing down issues of abuse and alcoholism. ...
`Peterson's rich and vivid characters and her amazingly perceptive understandings
of human emotions give [Dancer] the extra sparkle and magic it needs to stand out
above most of the rest.' - JanaLee Cherneski, The Star Phoenix
`Peterson's prose becomes self-assured in equine action scenes: the fox hunt is excitingly
described and jumping events benefit from her insider's eye for detail. It is Dancer itself,
strong, proud, feisty and determined, that is by far the book's most interesting character,
which, of course, is the highest recommendation it can have.' - Toronto Star
`The story has everything in it but the kitchen sink. Besides the thrills of competitions,
criminals and the extraordinary horse, there's a haunted riding whip, the benevolent ghost
of Hilary's dead father, teenage romance, divorce, an alcoholic ex-wife and parental romance.
As I read I kept shaking my head over the naive melodrama of it all, but I also kept reading,
right to the end. This book is as ingenuous as the early Nancy Drew mysteries but, like them,
it's also a real page turner.' - Resource Links
Photo by Barbara Hotson
Born in London, Ontario, Shelley Peterson is the second of six children of Don and Joyce Mathews. She was trained in Theatre Arts at the Banff School of Performing Arts, Dalhousie University, and University of Western Ontario. Her first theatrical appearance was in a production of Pinocchio at the Grand Theatre at the age of ten. Her professional career began at age nineteen in a production at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax. Since then she has played over one hundred roles in television, film and on stage.
Shelley has had a lifelong love of animals, big and small, with a particular interest in horses. She has ridden since she was a girl, and holds the trophy for the Caledon Steeplechase Team Event.
Take a virtual tour of Shelley's farm, Fox Ridge!